Burnout
by watercooleromance
Summary: Emma left everyone and everything she knew behind when she got pregnant at 16. She never told the father, or never told anyone, except Manny, who the father was. 15 years later she is living with her teenage son.ON HIATUS. SORRY! WRITER'S BLOCK!
1. Burnout

**Disclaimer: I own this story, all of the original characters thought up by my brain, and nothing else.  
In this story, Emma left Canada when she got pregnant at age 16. She never revealed the father's identity to anyone, with the exception of Manny. And she never told the father about his child. Now, 15 years later she is living in New York with her teenage son Tom, and old memories are resurfacing, forcing herself to track down Tom's father.**_  
It's been a long day. _Emma thought as she sat down at the kitchen table with a cup of tea. She picked up the stack of unopened mail lying in front of her and started going through it.  
"I'm home, Mom!" Emma's teenage son Tom said, closing the front door behind him.  
"You don't have to shout, I'm right here." Emma said, turning around to face her son.  
_He's looking more like his father everyday. _Tom was 15, had Emma's eyes and nose, but the rest of his features he could thank his father for. The father he doesn't even know. The father who doesn't even know Tom exists.  
Emma went into her room, sat on her bed and began folding laundry. _Peace and quiet at last._ Emma thought just as she heard loud, crashing sounds coming from downstairs. Tom and his band were practicing in the garage. _Must they play so loud?_ Thought Emma, rubbing her forehead, trying to get rid of the headache she felt coming on. Emma laid down on her bed, unable to even think, thanks to all of the commotion going on downstairs.  
At 5:00 when the noise had finally subsided, Emma went downstairs to start cooking dinner. A couple minutes later, Tom sat down at the kitchen table, reading a magazine.   
"Do your homework, Tom."  
"I don't have any."  
"Yes, you do. Get to it. I don't want any more calls from your teachers."  
"Yes ma'am." Tom grumbled, taking some books and papers out of his backpack.  
Emma turned the TV in the kitchen on and punched in 7 on the remote. ABC News came on, anchored by Liberty Yorke. _It's crazy. I can't believe she made it. She was a teen mother, just like me. But, she made a decent life for herself and followed her dreams, all while raising a child. I just let my dreams go down the drain. _Liberty had married J.T. shortly after graduation, they had 3 kids. J.T. was a full time father while she worked her way up the ranks of ABC and finally was promoted to an evening news anchor. _I haven't seen her since I was 16. I haven't seen anyone from Degrassi since I was 16, with the exception of Manny. But, she always filled me in on the latest gossip on the guys from Degrassi, just like old times.  
Manny, she had made a good life for herself, too._ After attending fashion school, her and Marco teamed up together and created their own clothing line. It had been a success. It attracted the attention of many celebrities, often seen wearing items from the collection on the red carpet. Manny lived in a beautiful penthouse apartment in New York City with her husband, John, and their 7 year old daughter Skye, only 30 minutes away from Emma. She and Emma had remained close over the years, and Manny often stopped in to visit her and Tom. _As a matter of fact, everybody had made their dreams come true. _After her father's death in Iraq, Ellie, in his honor, joined the army. _Liberty. J.T. Marco. Manny. Ellie. _Peter had an exceptional film-making career. He started by directing music videos, then short documentaries, and now he is filming the most highly anticipated movie of the year. _Liberty. J.T. Marco. Manny. Ellie. Peter. _But that's not all. Paige was successful in business school and was an accountant, but then, after her brother Dylan was shot to death due to gang violence, she went to Police academy, and is now a policewoman. She got married to Spinner, who works in an advertising agency, and they are currently expecting their 3rd child. _Liberty. J.T. Marco. Manny. Ellie. Peter. Paige. Spinner. _Best friends Sean and Jay had teamed up together and started their own construction company. Sean is now married and expecting his first child. Jay is engaged to be married to his girlfriend of 4 years, Teresa, and is father to 6 year old Josh, from a past relationship. _Liberty. J.T. Marco. Manny. Ellie. Peter. Paige. Spinner. Sean. Jay. _Jimmy had been selected out of hundreds of auditions to portray L.B. Jefferies in a remake of Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window. After finishing the film and realizing acting was not his calling, he used the money to buy a nice house in which he settled with his wife, Hazel, and their 4 children. _Liberty. J.T. Marco. Manny. Peter. Ellie. Paige. Spinner. Sean. Jay. Jimmy. Hazel._ _Everybody seems like they have the perfect life, and I'm struggling with my rebellious son, and a job I hate. _Emma sighed and snapped out of her daze.  
"…rescue workers were able to pull 7 out of the burning building 2 of whom died la-TRL STARTS NOW!"   
Emma sighed heavily.  
"I thought I told you to do your homework less than 20 seconds ago." She lectured Tom, who was worshipping the TV.  
"I can multitask."  
"Fine. But that homework better get done. Dinner will be ready in 20 minutes." Emma said, bending down to open the oven, checking on the chicken that was roasting in there.

"Shh. I want to see this." Tom said, his eyes glued to the TV screen.  
The announcer for TRL spoke. "After this short break we will premiere the new video from the platinum-selling Canadian band Burnout and frontman Craig Manning will be here to talk about it. Don't change the channel." A commercial for Crest toothpaste began to play.   
Emma dropped the phone she had in her hand, planning to call Manny. _Oh, my God. Did I just hear that correctly? No, I couldn't have. Craig's in New York? Craig's in a platinum selling band? It could be a different Craig Manning. Yeah, right. Liberty. J.T. Marco. Manny. Ellie. Peter. Paige. Spinner. Sean. Jay. Jimmy. Hazel. And now Craig.  
_The phone rang. Emma quickly picked it up from the floor on the first ring.  
"Hello?"  
"Hi, Emma, did you just call me?" It was Manny's voice on the other side.  
TRL was coming back on. "Sorry, Manny, got to call you back." Emma said, hanging up the phone. She sat down at the table, next to Tom.  
"Mom, you're blocking my view." Tom said.  
"Be quiet!" Emma shouted, louder than she intended to.  
"Geez…" Tom mumbled, moving his chair over to where he could view the TV.   
Craig came onto the screen, holding a microphone. _It's amazing. He doesn't look like he aged a day since high school.   
_"His band is my inspiration, he's a very talented guy. Did you know that they his band is the next Green Day? And-''  
"How many times do I have to tell you to be quiet!"  
"Sorry."   
Emma was looking at the TV, but not registering anything that was going on. Her mind had brought itself back to old times. She thought about how her life was before she left, carefree and fun, and then her life on the day she left, a mess and depressing. All of the sudden she had an urge to return back, for a visit. She had been away for 15 long years. Away from her family. Away from her friends. Away from reality.   
BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.  
Time to take the chicken out of the oven. Emma heard the timer, but was so lost in her thoughts about going back home, she disregarded the continual beeping noises.  
"Mom! The timer's been going off for 10 fucking minutes!" Tom screamed at Emma.  
"Don't talk to me like that."  
"Well, what are you, deaf?"  
"That's enough." Emma said, anger rising. "Dinner's ready. Take your homework off of the table."  
Dinner was eaten mostly in silence. Emma couldn't take it.  
"So, did you finish your homework?"  
"I can't."  
"Why not?" Emma questioned, slightly annoyed.  
"I need to do a complete family tree."  
_Great. _Emma thought back to the time when Tom was 5 and made a father's day card in school, but had no one to give it to.  
Emma swallowed. "That's easy. You have a mother, two grandparents, two uncles, and 4 cousins."

Tom poked his chicken with his fork. "I need to know about my father's side of the family."

Emma remained silent.  
"You probably don't even know who he is." Tom muttered under his breath.  
"What did you say" Emma asked, trying her best to remain calm.  
"I said that you probably don't even know who my father is!" Tom ran upstairs.  
_You don't know this, but you were just telling me about how he is your band's inspiration and how you worship his guitar playing skills._  
This was a sensitive subject for Tom. He always longed for a father. Emma had done her best trying to raise him well. But, he always felt as if something was missing. Tom often thought that his father wasn't around because he didn't want anything to do with him. He had no idea that his father didn't even know he had a son.  
After cleaning up from dinner and doing 2 loads of laundry, Emma decided to call Manny. _I can't even remember why I was going to call her in the first place.  
_The phone was picked up on the 2nd ring by Manny's daughter, Skye.  
"Hello?" A child's voice said on the other end.  
"Hi, Skye, it's Aunt Emma. Is Mom there?" Skye had always considered Emma her to be her aunt,  
"Hold on, Auntie."  
After a moment of silence, Manny answered.  
"Hi, Emma. What's up?" They still spoke like the 14 year old girls they were at heart.  
"Did you know that Craig was in a platinum selling band?" Emma asked her friend.  
"Grammy winning." Manny whispered.  
"What?"  
"His band won a Grammy last month. Best rock album."  
_Where have I been?  
_"Why didn't you tell me if you knew?"  
"I thought you didn't like talking about him. After…"  
Emma cut her off. "Listen, Manny, I'll talk to you tomorrow."  
Emma dropped the phone on the couch next to her and started crying.  
Tom walked through the living room, on his way to the garage, but stopped when he saw his mother crying on the couch.  
"Mom… if it's about what I said before… I'm really sorry. I was out of line. I didn't mean it."  
Emma wiped her eyes and looked up at her son. _He must have been crying up in his room. _Emma thought, seeing that Tom's face was red and tear stained.  
"No, it's not that."  
"Is your homework finished?"  
Tom nodded his head.  
"Good."  
_Okay…it's been too long. He needs to know who his father is.  
_**Sorry about the band name. It's from Green Day's song "Burnout". I just didn't feel like being creative.  
Please read and review. If I can get 8 reviews, I'll post another chapter. No hurtful comments, please. Be nice this is my first Degrassi FanFic. Constructive criticism is welcomed.  
I know Ellie's father did not die on the show, but he did in this story. But it doesn't matter, because it's not important to this story.  
I also know that Spike and Snake only have one show, Jack, on the show, but I'm just going to say that they had another one. Once again, not important.**


	2. Going Home

**Going Home**

**Disclaimer: Same as the previous chapter  
Thanks to all of the reviewers! Sorry if this chapter sucks. Hell, sorry if this story sucks. Anyway, keep the reviews coming!**

"Tom! Are you ready to go yet!" Emma yelled up the stairs to her son early Monday morning. Today was the day. After 15 years, Emma was returning to Toronto, but this time with her son. She had called Joey the previous week and he had informed Emma that Craig would be in town for a couple weeks. Emma wanted to see him, but more importantly, she wanted Tom to see him.  
There was still no answer from Tom. "Tom!" Emma called again, louder this time.  
Emma ran up the stairs. _We're going to miss our plane if he doesn't get moving._ Emma walked into Tom's room and saw him frantically throwing clothes into a duffle bag.  
"Tom, we don't have time for this! I told you to pack a week ago!" Emma picked up a sweatshirt of Tom's from the floor. A pack of cigarettes fell from the pocket. _Boy, this kid is really asking for it.  
_Tom saw this and nervously looked at his mother.  
"We'll talk about this later." Emma said, putting the cigarettes into her back pocket and glanced at her watch. "But right now we have to catch a plane."

The flight seemed like it took an eternity. Emma sat fidgeting in her seat and filled with anxiety the whole time. As the plane soared through the gray and icy March skies, Emma could think of nothing but the day she had left Toronto, and her former life behind. The memory was still fresh in her mind, and she remembered every detail of it as if it had happened yesterday, instead of 15 years ago.

* * *

"Oh, Emma, I wish you wouldn't leave. You can stay here. We'll help, you don't have to run away from us." Spike said to Emma, eyes filling with tears.  
Emma, Spike, Snake, and Jack were seated at the table, eating breakfast on the day Emma was scheduled to leave. Spike was feeding Jack, and Snake was reading the newspaper. But neither could concentrate on what they were doing. Spike kept missing Jack's mouth when she went to give him a spoonful of oatmeal, and Snake couldn't comprehend what he was reading. All they could think about was Emma. They didn't want her to leave, and they couldn't understand why she would want to. She has a wonderful family, willing to support her through everything, Spike remembered thinking.  
"I'm not running from you. Please understand that. I..." She paused. _Why am I running? _"I just want to start a new life for myself." She looked down at her stomach. "…And my baby."  
Emma was 5 months along and already showing. She had managed to keep her pregnancy a secret from her classmates at Degrassi by wearing oversized clothes. She knew some people had suspected that she was pregnant, but she let them think what they wanted. As long as Paige didn't find out, she was safe. Paige was known to spread rumors, and that's the last thing that Emma wanted. Manny was the only one who Emma had trusted enough to tell.

"Spike…" Snake started, looking at his wife. "If Emma thinks that this is best for her, than we should let her go."  
Spike gave up the hopeless war. "Won't you at least tell us who the father is?" She asked Emma, her eyes pleading, her voice quavering.  
Emma shook her head. "I can't…"  
"Yes you can, sweetheart. You can tell us anything. You know that."  
Snake gave Spike a look that said _I'm begging you, please stop.  
_Spike sighed and fed Jack some more oatmeal.

Later on that day, the family was in the car on their way to the airport. Emma was going to live with her Aunt Holly in New York. Emma boarded the plane, with mixed emotions. As much as she wanted to start over, she longed to go back to the way things had been before.

* * *

Without realizing it, Emma's eyes were misting at the thought of the last time she had been on a plane. She looked over at Tom. He was listening to music on headphones and looking out the window.

"Attention passengers this is your captain speaking. We are now beginning our descent toward Toronto. The temperature now is 36 degrees Fahrenheit. Please turn off all electronic items and put your seats in the upward position."

After exiting the plane and gathering their luggage Emma and Tom were in a rental car on their way to Spike and Snakes' house.  
"Emma…" Tom whined as they pulled in to the driveway. "Why the hell are we here?"  
Emma sighed and looked at her son. He had curly black hair, pale white skin, and green eyes. Every time she looked at him she saw Craig.  
"First of all, it's not 'Emma', it's Mom. Second of all, don't you want to see your grandparents?"  
"They usually come to visit us, why are we up here all the sudden?"  
"You know what, Tom? I don't know."  
Emma parked the car and her and Tom stepped out and walked towards the back of the car to retrieve their bags.  
"It's freezing out here." Tom stated.  
Emma saw that he was wearing only jeans and a T-shirt.  
"Didn't you pack a sweatshirt or a jacket?"  
"Maybe." Tom pulled a cigarette and a lighter from his pocket and quickly lit the cigarette and placed it between his lips.  
Emma grabbed it out of his mouth, threw it on the ground and stepped on it. She pulled a pack of cigarettes from Tom's pocket.  
"Where are you getting these from?" Emma asked, anger in her eyes and voice, and holding the pack up in front of Tom's face.  
Tom snatched the cigarettes from her hand.  
"Well at least they're not drugs!"  
"I don't care what they are, I don't want to see them again."  
_These are the times when I need Craig or at least a father figure for Tom, the most.  
_After greeting and catching up with Spike and Snake and doing some unpacking, Emma got in her car-well, the rental- and headed over to Joey's house.  
She rang the doorbell, praying that Craig wouldn't answer. Her hands were shaking as she heard footsteps come to the door and finally open it. It was Joey.  
"Hi, Joey it's so good to see it." Emma said with a genuine smile on her face, as she walked over to give Joey a hug.  
"It's good to see you too, Emma. It's been a long time."  
"Yes, it has."  
"Did you want to see Craig, he's in the garage, I'm sure he'll be glad to see you."  
"Ok, thanks Joey."  
Emma walked towards the garage. Craig spotted her and ran over to her as fast as he could and hugged her.  
"Emma, what are you doing here?" Craig asked, taking a seat on the couch next to Emma. "I haven't seen you in years. How have you been?"  
Emma looked him over quickly, and got right down to business. "I came here because we need to talk."


End file.
